FOR FCC RECORD ONLY: $//PN, Assignment & Transfer Backlog Reduction, DA 95-1368//$ PUBLIC NOTICE MASS MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES ASSIGNMENT AND TRANSFER BACKLOG REDUCTION AND NEW SPEED OF SERVICE INITIATIVES The Mass Media Bureau has instituted a plan to eliminate the existing backlog of contested assignment and transfer applications and to reduce, to the maximum extent possible, the time between the filing of new assignment and transfer applications and action on such applications. Additionally, the Bureau is exploring improved procedural techniques to expedite review of all applications filed with it. BACKLOG REDUCTION EFFORT: Under the sales backlog reduction plan the Bureau will:  Maintain its current speed of service for all routine assignment and transfer applications (i.e., applications that do not involve a waiver and are uncontested) at 60 days or less from the date of filing.  By June 30, dispose of all non-routine assignment and transfer applications (i.e., applications that are contested or involve a waiver) that have been pending for over 180 days, except for cases that are blocked because of circumstances beyond the Bureau's control.  By July 31, dispose of all petitions for reconsideration of staff action on sales applications in cases where the petition has been pending for over 180 days; submit for Commission consideration draft decisions on all applications for review of staff action on sales applications in cases where the application for review has been pending for over 180 days.  With regard to newly filed assignment and transfer applications, dispose of all non-routine applications in no more than 180 days from the date of filing, respond to all petitions for reconsideration of those decisions in no more than 180 days from the filing of the petition, and submit for Commission review draft documents responding to applications for review of such decisions in no more than 180 days from the filing of the application for review. The 180 day time-frame for initial action on a non-routine assignment and transfer application represents a worst-case scenario. The Bureau will act on most newly filed non-routine assignment and transfer applications in no more than 120 days. Frivolous petitions to deny will be acted on within 30 days of the close of the pleading cycle and frivolous informal objections will be acted on within 30 days of the close of the period established by the public notice announcing acceptance of the application. Applications will be approved simultaneously if otherwise grantable. To achieve its backlog reduction plan, the Bureau has recently detailed several attorneys from other parts of the Bureau to the Audio Services Division, which receives the highest percentage of assignment and transfer applications. That Division is also reorganizing to permit its attorneys to focus on the more difficult legal issues raised in sales applications and to reduce the levels of internal review. These changes, coupled with certain procedural improvements, have within the last three months permitted the Divison to reduce the number of non-routine sales cases over six months old by 65%, from 144 to 50, and the appeals of such cases by 20%, from 53 to 42. In the Video Services Division, the backlog of pending sales cases over six months old is currently 20 and, with the exception of a few complex cases, will be reduced according to the schedule above. On a separate matter, the Video Services Division, since June of 1994 when it assumed responsibility for processing MMDS applications, has reduced the number of applications for new or improved facilities by approximately 2200, or 33%, and has reduced the backlog of MMDS petitions for reconsideration from 5523 to 207, or 96%. PROCEDURAL INITIATIVES: In addition to reallocating resources, the Bureau is applying improved procedural techniques to expedite review of all assignment and transfer applications filed with it and is exploring additional ways to facilitate timely processing:  The Bureau will screen upon receipt all incoming pleadings to determine whether they conform to procedural rules and to assess the seriousness of the allegations. Petitions to deny, petitions for reconsideration, and applications for review that fail to comply with relevant procedural requirements including, for example, requirements concerning standing, jurisdiction, and supporting affidavits, will be summarily dismissed unless the staff determines that consideration of the document despite its procedural flaws is in the public interest. The Bureau urges attorneys to state with specificity, and to support with facts and legal authority, how each pleading filed complies with procedural requirements in the Commission's rules.  Though all issues raised in pleadings will be carefully and thoroughly considered, staff decisions denying petitions to deny and petitions for reconsideration will generally contain a concise statement of reasons disposing of all substantial issues raised by the petition rather than a detailed issue-by- issue analysis. Decisions denying informal objections will generally indicate only that the objection failed to present a public interest reason for denying the application. Parties may submit draft decision documents to the staff together with their authorized plaeadings.  The Bureau plans to request expansion of its delegated authority to permit waivers of the multiple ownership rules and resolution of routine EEO complaints without full Commission review. Action by the Chief, Mass Media Bureau - FCC- For further information, contact Linda Blair or Stuart Bedell at 202-418-2788 or Clay Pendarvis at 202-418-1630.